Chapter 3: The Bald-Headed Scarface of Macau Casino

  Peng Haoming woke up from his dream to find that it was already dark outside. The performance the boss had mentioned should be about to start. He found Weng Cai and, as instructed by the boss, took a suitcase with him to go take a look at the "performance" at the Lisboa Casino.

  The "Macau" in Gangkou is certainly not the well-known Macau Casino, perhaps the local warlord thought this name was quite good. In this era of rampant counterfeiting, the authentic Macau would not go to great lengths to come and defend its rights here. Although it's a fake Macau, the luxury level is in no way inferior, with baccarat, slot machines, poker, and all sorts of gambling games that one can think of are all available.

  Peng Haoming put on his Bluetooth headset and answered his boss's call: "Boss, I'm at the Lisboa."

  "How was it?" The boss's response was somewhat irrelevant.

  "It's okay, just a bit noisy." Peng Haoming was walking through an area filled with slot machines.

  "Go inside and turn right at the end, there is a corridor." The command came from the headphones.

  Peng Haoming brought along Weng Cai, following the instructions in his earpiece as they made their way through the grand hall of the casino, only to be blocked by several heavily armed military police in the corridor.

  The soldiers and police do not need to learn Chinese to make a living, their way of survival is the gun, so they don't care who this well-dressed gentleman is. The boss's receiver heard bursts of scolding from the soldiers and police.

  Weng guessed what Peng Haoming was going to do, went forward and negotiated with the military police, translated for Peng Haoming: "This is a VIP area, you need to exchange 200,000 chips to get in."

  In this place, cash is king. The heavy cash in the suitcase was exchanged for dozens of plastic chips. Halfway through, it's inevitable to bribe a few small chip toll booths.

  "Boss, I'm in. What's next?" Having entered the long and dark corridor, Peng Haoming was at a loss, and reconnected the phone call.

  "Do you play poker?"

  "Not very good..." Peng Haoming didn't know what his boss was getting at.

  "It's simple, just take a look and you'll know. You go to a room called Paris Spring, there are three gambling tables inside. Find a person who is easy to recognize, he's bald, with a scar on his left cheek. Sit across from him, then think of ways to lose money to him..."

  "Boss... I'm actually not very good at poker." Peng Haoming felt a bit overwhelmed upon hearing this, as losing was easy enough, but deliberately losing to someone specific wasn't simple.

  "Don't worry, I've taken care of everything, losing money is easy..."

  Since the boss said so, Peng Haoming had no choice but to grit his teeth and go find that bald-headed scarface.

  The VIP room had three gaming tables arranged in a staggered manner. Unlike Western gamblers, the gamblers in this region were superstitious that bringing female companions would bring bad luck. The room was filled with gamblers and staff, and the decorations showed off a luxurious style. As soon as Peng Haoming entered, he couldn't help but wrinkle his brow. The gamblers relied on cigarettes and even drugs to stimulate themselves, and the room was shrouded in smoke, like being enveloped in fog. Only the silhouettes of the gamblers and staff could be vaguely seen, and the thick smell of smoke made Peng Haoming feel a bit short of breath.

  Peng Haoming didn't like this kind of place, but he comforted himself that it was just work. He found the bald man with a scar and sat down across from him, while Weng Cai stood to one side, looking very much like a young apprentice to a gambler.

  As for Texas Hold'em and thirteen cards, the gameplay seems too cumbersome here. The betting method of this table is simple and rough. Each person is first dealt a card, no one knows what others have, then you can decide whether to bet or give up based on your own card - giving up means losing the previous bet, then another card is dealt. Three cards are combined, three bars are the biggest, two pairs once, if there are no pairs, compare the largest card. This betting method purely relies on luck.

  The rules are simple and easy to learn, but winning or losing is just a matter of an instant. All the tricks in gambler movies are completely useless here - luck decides everything, or rather, the card dealer decides everything.

  The bald-headed man with a scar on his face sized up the newcomer gambler. In this place where people made their living, vigilance was also necessary.

  "What business is the boss doing?" Bald Head Scar said to Peng Haoming while dealing the cards.

  Peng Haoming was a little dizzy on his first gamble and didn't know how to respond.

  "...has character..." Baldy Scarface seems somewhat displeased.

  "My boss is in the lumber business." Weng Cai saw that the newcomer was not good and quickly responded with a sentence.

  Weng Cai felt that this bald-headed scarred face seemed somewhat familiar, but for a moment he couldn't recall who it was.

  "Each time the minimum bet is 10,000, and the raise must be at least 10,000. Do any of you bosses have any objections?" The dealer confirmed the betting rules again.

  Peng Haoming had no objection, because he still didn't understand how to gamble, let alone lose.

  One after another, Peng Haoming inexplicably won several rounds, and Weng Cai's eyebrows rose with a smile, but Peng Haoming was somewhat dazed.

  "Newcomer's luck isn't bad, huh? Which mountain are you doing lumber business in?" Bald Head Scar sucked on a cigarette, his tone unpleasant.

  "Uh, this is Guo'a's territory." Peng Haoming replied.

  "Hmm... That blond kid is doing pretty well for himself now."

  "Everywhere... just out to make a living." Peng Haoming replied evasively.

  Gamblers usually don't get close to each other, the gambling table has no father and son, getting close is meaningless, bald head knife scar shut mouth, focus attention on poker cards.

  The situation that followed was a bit strange, one gambler left the table, and another persisted, but he kept getting bad cards or gave up early, and the gambling table was almost just Peng Haoming and Bald Scar competing in luck.

  The bald-headed scar-faced man was in transit, and Peng Haoming's luck had not gone far either. The remaining gambler got up to go to the restroom, taking advantage of the opportunity to give Peng Haoming a wink.

  Peng Haoming didn't understand gambling, but this game made him realize that the remaining person was his own kind. He still couldn't figure out how to lose and used it as an excuse to leave the table and go to the restroom.

  "Watch my hands, thumb pinches pinky means fold, thumb pinches index finger means call, thumb pinches middle finger means opponent's card is bigger, continue to call." The gambler took the opportunity to secretly pass on the trick.

  "Is it really that simple?" Peng Haoming couldn't quite believe it.

  The gambler seemed to have noticed Peng Haoming's suspicion and smiled: "Simple is often the most effective."

  After re-entering the game, Peng Haoming's efficiency in losing money increased under his guidance. In less than two hours, 200,000 chips and the chips he had just won were lost, leaving only 10,000.

  Peng Haoming looked at the lone chip in his hand, he no longer had the capital to continue gambling, stood up and said to Guang Tou Dao Ba: "I'm not as skilled as you, I'll leave first."

  "Hmm? If you're not satisfied, we can lend it here." Bald Head Scar won a lot of money and was in a great mood.

  "It's still not possible." Peng Haoming had heard about the cruelty of usury in casinos, and at this time, he didn't think it was necessary to withdraw.

  "Feel free to come back anytime." Baldy Scarface didn't mean to retain him, watching as Peng Haoming jokingly said in M Country language.

  Although Peng Haoming didn't understand, he roughly guessed the meaning and replied: "See you again someday."

  Less than 200,000 yuan was gone in one night, and Weng Cai cried with a sad face. Peng Haoming couldn't help but laugh: "I lost money, what's wrong with you?"

  "The boss is in a good mood after winning, of course he'll give me some extra... If he loses money and is in a bad mood, then there's no extra for Wong Chai..." As expected, Wong Chai's words made Peng Haoming laugh. He looked at the single chip in his hand and handed it to him: "Here you go..."

  "Thanks boss!" Weng Cai hastily took over the chips.

  "Boss, where are we going next? Do you want..." With the reward, Weng Cai's mood was greatly improved, and he spoke enthusiastically.

  "Tired, go back and rest... you do as you like." Peng Haoming really couldn't muster up the spirit to have fun, having just lost 200,000 yuan, his heart wasn't feeling too great.

  "Shall I... send you back first, boss?"

  "No need, I'll go back myself." Peng Haoming knew what he was thinking of, the chips he had just gotten his hands on, if he didn't play a few rounds, his heart would itch unbearably.

  Peng Haoming had just walked out of the Lisboa Casino when his phone rang: "How does it feel?"

  "It's all gone, lost everything."

  "Go back and rest first, I'll call you tomorrow." The boss's instruction was concise.

  In the dense jungle, thick fog surrounded Peng Haoming as he opened his eyes wide and searched desperately for the enemy that was attacking him. Although his ears were perked up high, the rustling of leaves in the wind covered everything. Peng Haoming gripped his gun tightly, but when he looked down, the gun in his hand had turned into a tree branch. Peng Haoming broke out in cold sweat and felt for the pistol holster on his waist, and the pistol was still there. Just as he slightly relaxed, a huge strange noise suddenly came from the jungle...

  Peng Haoming was woken up by a nightmare again, looked at the time and saw that it was just dawn, feeling wide awake, so he went to the window, pulled open the curtains, and in the distance, the mountains slowly emerged in the morning mist, on the other side of the mountain was where he came from, and also where he would return to in the future...

  What will it become when I go back myself? Peng Haoming lit a cigarette, and past events slowly floated before his eyes in the smoke.

  Peng Haoming sat idly by the window, watching as the sun slowly rose from behind the mountains, once again casting its light upon the world. When the sky had fully brightened, there was a knock at the door. Peng Haoming pulled out a handgun from his bag and asked, "Who is it?"

  "Boss, it's time for breakfast..." It was Weng Cai's voice.

  "I'm not hungry yet, you eat by yourself."

  "Uh... boss, today's breakfast is special..." Weng Cai's voice trailed off.

  Peng Haoming opened the door and looked at Weng Cai who was crying with a sad face: "Lost everything?"

  "Don't mention it... still owe this amount..." Weng Chai raised three fingers.

  "Thirty thousand?" Peng Haoming was somewhat surprised.

  Weng Cai nodded solemnly...

  Peng Haoming opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. The phone rang, and Peng Haoming took a look, seeing that it was the boss. He signaled for Weng Cai to wait a moment, then answered the call: "Boss, do you have any instructions today?"

  "Today I wandered around during the day, getting familiar with the new environment, tonight...hmm? How much cash do you still have?"

  Peng Haoming roughly calculated: "There's still over a hundred million..."

  "Tonight take 300,000 to watch the performance..."

  "Huh?"

  The boss ignored Peng Haoming's surprise and continued: "Go in at night and find a man named E Brother, he will tell you what to do."

  Just as Peng Haoming was about to ask for clarification, the boss seemed to see through his thoughts and continued: "Be like a businessman, otherwise it will arouse other people's suspicion."

  "Alright boss, I understand, boss." Weng Cai was still staring at the door with eager eyes, and Peng Haoming couldn't say anything else, so he just kept responding to the boss's words.

  Peng Haoming had just hung up the phone when Weng Cai hurriedly came over and said "Hao Ge..."

  Peng Haoming couldn't help but laugh: "You've lost everything and now you're coming to me?"

  "Hmm... this... doesn't feel quite right..."

  "By the way, what's the origin of that bald-headed scarface? I'd like to meet him again tonight."

  Weng guessed and scratched his head, also recalling: "I seem to have seen him before, but I can't remember where I saw him. It shouldn't be some small warlord, I know all the small warlords around here..."

  Weng Cai's brain was muddled from a night of gambling and he couldn't think straight for the time being. Peng Haoming said, "Let's take a walk around during the day to get familiar with the place, you try to gather some information again."

  "No problem, no problem...... Hao Ge...... then...... uh......"

  Peng Haoming knew what Weng Cai was referring to, but still complained: "I'll deduct it from your salary next month!" Looking at his pitiful appearance, he took out a wad of money again: "This is the information fee..."

  "Thank you boss, thank you Hao Ge..." Weng Cai couldn't help but feel delighted.

  "Money... humph... " Peng Haoming sneered in his heart: "Here, you can really buy everything with money..."